The LPGA tour’s long-awaited return took a step toward fruition on Friday. The Marathon Classic was granted permission to be played July 23-26 in Sylvania, Ohio, with spectators, according to an announcement on the tournament’s Twitter feed on Friday. It would be the tour’s first tournament since the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in early February.
An LPGA event hasn’t been played in the United States since the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio on Jan. 23-26.
Ohio governor Mike DeWine announced during a Friday press briefing that he would allow the Memorial, a PGA Tour event at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, to be played July 16-19 with limited fans.
The Marathon classic is among three other professional golf tournaments this summer ― including the Senior Players in Akron and the Nationwide Children’s Championship at the Ohio State Scarlet course ― that are also expected to be green-lighted to have fans once their activation plans have been reviewed, according to a story in the Columbus Dispatch. The Memorial already submitted its plan, which has been approved, tournament director Dan Sullivan told the Dispatch.
In clearing the way for the Memorial to include fans, DeWine cautioned that the coronavirus pandemic is still going strong.
“The virus is still out there. It’s not going away,” DeWine said, before explaining that data shows new cases and hospital admissions are dropping, making it possible for large-group events to open, if they follow safety practices.
This story will be updated…
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